Welcome to 'just old flies,' a section of methods and flies that
used-to-be. These flies were tied with the only materials
available. Long before the advent of 'modern' tying
materials, they were created and improved upon at a
far slower pace than today's modern counterparts;
limited by materials available and the
tiers imagination.

Once long gone, there existed a 'fraternity' of anglers
who felt an obligation to use only the 'standard' patterns
of the day. We hope to bring a bit of nostalgia to these pages and to
you. And sometimes what you find here will not always be
about fishing. Perhaps you will enjoy them. Perhaps you
will fish the flies. Perhaps?

Lemon and Grey

By Eric Austin, Ohio

There is a special section of Irish flies in T.E. Pryce-Tannatt's book
How to Dress Salmon Flies, and this fly is contained
therein. They are without pretence, there is no showing off here, and
they are built for fishing. I've tried to dress this fly in that spirit, and put
a low wing on it, and quite a simple one for me. Now I love a complicated
wing, but this fly was a very satisfying one to do, and still demanding in
its own way. I was able to really focus on some things with this one, not
the least of which was the herl head, something that I've been trying to
improve.

Pryce-Tannatt has this to say about his arbitrary classification of Irish Patterns:

Irish patterns are merely general patterns, possessing as a rule rather
more wing and more variety of colour in the wing than those coming under
the first group of this classification. They have a very common feature in the
shape of Mallard strips partly veiling the mixed-wing underneath, and very
few of them have the adornment of a topping over the wing. Though they
are not as brilliant as the usual Scotch type of fly, they give an impression
of greater warmth of colouring, a richer general effect, the bodies being very
often varied and shaded in pleasing and harmonious schemes of colour. They
seem to be peculiarly well suited to peaty waters, and, from the quantity of wing
they possess--relatively speaking--it is safe to assume that they do not fish as
deep as some other types of fly.

The thing I noticed about the bronze mallard strips he refers to is that
they typically went the length of the fly, as I've done here. They are a
topping in a sence, though not the typical golden pheasant crest.
Pryce-Tannatt shows some Irish flies in the fly plates in his book.

Pryce-Tannat's book is available in its entirety on-line, and I highly
recommend it as a good fundamental text on the topic. Keep in mind
though that many of his dressings are "unusual" and at times quite
overdone. Not so with the Irish flies however, and they would be
a great starting point for anyone desirous of having a go at these
rough and tumble flies. Here's the recipe for the Lemon and Grey: